Gay v. City of Coral Gables

• Decision Date: 14 July 1950
• Citation: 47 So.2d 529
• Parties: GAY, Comptroller, v. CITY OF CORAL GABLES.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 529

47 So.2d 529

GAY, Comptroller, v. CITY OF CORAL GABLES.

Supreme Court of Florida, Division B.

July 14, 1950.

Richard W. Ervin Atty. Gen., Fred M. Burns, Asst. Atty. Gen. and Lewis H. Tribble, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Edward L. Semple, Miami, for appellee.

CHAPMAN, Justice.

Chapter 22645, Acts of 1945, Laws of Florida, imposed a tax on cigarettes sold in the State of Florida. The proceeds derived from such taxes were paid into the State Treasury and designated 'Cigarette Tax Collection Fund'. The money accumulating in this fund, from month to month, was transferred to the General Revenue Fund. Chapter 22645, supra, was amended, in part, by Chapter 24363, Acts of 1947, Laws of Florida. Chapter 26320, Acts of 1949, amended Chapters 22645 and 24363 and repealed all laws and parts of laws in conflict therewith. F.S.A. § 210.01 et seq.

The title of Chapter 26320, Acts of 1949, recites, in part, that it was an Act imposing a state tax on cigarettes; it authorized a tax levy by municipalities of Florida on cigarettes; it granted a reduction on State tax to the extent of municipal tax paid; the Act appropriates the proceeds of the cigarette taxes to the municipalities and Tuberculosis Hospitals; municipalities are required to make financial reports from time to time; also certain proceeds of the taxes levied on cigarettes are required to be applied by municipalities to reduce ad valorem tax millage, and the Act provides a formula therefor.

Set forth in the Act are legislative findings of fact important to the several municipalities of Florida and are viz.:

' Whereas, the incorporated municipalities of the State of Florida are performing numerous functions of the state through the use of local tax revenue in building, maintaining and preserving within the municipal boundaries streets, bridges and facilities for the preservation and improvement of public health, welfare and safety of the citizens at large; and

' Whereas, the limited sources of revenues available to said municipalities have brought about a financial crisis in municipal government to the extent that citizens are being oppressed by heavy local taxes and are nevertheless unable to obtain satisfactory and orderly operation of local government; and

' Whereas, said municipalities of the State of Florida are without sufficient tax income to property carry out and perform the various duties imposed upon them, including but not limited to the duties of maintaining roads and streets and the preservation of public health, welfare and safety, which duties are primarily the obligations of the State of Florida; and

' Whereas, the State of Florida should provide financial aid to assist in performing state functions which are and may be performed by said municipal government; and

' Whereas, many municipalities have levied varying amounts of cigarette taxes and many other municipalities propose to levy a tax thereon; and

' Whereas, the levying and collection of such varying amounts of taxes by many separate governmental units is causing great confusion and a heavy burden on the industry in the segregation of cigarettes to be sold in the various municipalities, the affixing of various stamps thereon, is dealing with numerous inspectors, and dealing separately with many taxing authorities; and

' Whereas, such varying taxes cause a varying sales price on packages of cigarettes within the boundaries of various municipalities and within and outside incorporated areas result in unfair competition among merchants and loss of revenue to the municipalities; and

' Whereas, there is a large and unnecessary cost burden in the collection of such numerous taxes; and

' Whereas it is desirable and essential that taxes upon cigarettes be uniform throughout the state and all taxes thereon be collected by one agency; and

' Whereas, it is necessary to grant a credit or reduction in the state tax to the extent of any municipal tax to prevent an excessive tax burden upon cigarettes to the injury of the public, the consumer and the industry, and to prevent a loss of the tax revenue.'

Section 210.03, supra, (1) authorizes any municipality of Florida, in the discretion of its governing body, to impose an excise or privilege tax upon the sale of cigarettes within the territorial limits of such municipality up to the same amount for the same size and the same package content referred to in Section 210.02 of the Act; (2) the tax authorized shall be collected by the Beverage Department of the State of Florida; (3) the tax, when imposed by a municipality, shall be advanced and paid by the dealer to the Beverage Director for deposit and distribution according to the provisions of the Act; (4) when a munipality imposes such a tax, a certified copy of the municipal law imposing same shall be filed with the Director; (5) any funds received by the municipalities of Florida by virtue of the cigarette tax levy shall be expended by the said municipality for certain state functions and purposes within the State of Florida enumerated in subd. (5), supra.

Section 210.20, subd. (1) grants the authority to employ clerical assistants; subd. (2) as collections are received from the cigarettes taxes the Director shall pay the same into the State Treasury designated as the 'cigarette tax collection fund', which shall be distributed or paid (a) by the State Comptroller to the municipalities or other agencies authorized to receive the same; and (b) proceeds thereafter, if any, accruing from the cigarette taxes are appropriated by the Act for the construction of tuberculosis hospitals.

Section 210.21 of the Act provides that enumerated portions of the moneys arising from a levy of the cigarette tax shall be exclusively used by said municipalities in the reduction of the municipal ad valorem taxes. The reduction feature thereof as contemplated by the Legislature is made applicable only to the several municipalities of Florida as have brought themselves within the scope of the Act. It will be observed that two methods are set out and clearly defined whereby receipts of cigarette taxes may be used by municipalities in the reduction of municipal ad valorem taxes. The first method is Subsection (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) of Section 210.21, which are viz.:

'(a) There shall first be determined the amount by which the cigarette tax revenue of the municipality in the twelve months ended June 30 of the current calendar year exceeds its cigarette tax revenue in the twelve months ended June 30 of the immediately preceding calendar year, the amount of such excess being hereby denominated 'increased cigarette tax revenue.'

'(b) There shall next be determined the...